


The Straw

by Awseomness



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Comfort fic, F/F, Gender Dysphoria, Short, Trans Female Pidge | Katie Holt, trangst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-22 05:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16591319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Awseomness/pseuds/Awseomness
Summary: Allura hears Pidge crying and goes to investigate.





	The Straw

The door wooshed open. "Pidge?"

"Allura!" Pidge sat up on her bed, wiping her face on her sleeve. "What- you're- do you-"

Allura stepped into the room and the door zipped closed behind her. "Pidge, what's wrong?"

Pidge blinked and grimaced. "It's nothing. I'm fine."

"Pidge," Allura sat next to her, placing a hand on her knee, "Katie. Please, talk to me."

Pidge took a deep breath before speaking. "I thought I had more time. When we lost the Castle of Lions, we lost the equipment I used to synthesize my medicine. So, while we were trying to get to Earth, my body's natural hormone balance reasserted itself. And then, when we did get here, supplies were so tight, and life-saving medicine was prioritized..."

She felt tears welling up in her eyes again, and she cursed inwardly. "I have it now, but... I found a hair on my cheek. And I shaved it, but it's gonna keep growing back, and it's stupid, and there are girls who just have hairs on their cheek, but it's there, and it's always going to be there, and-"

Allura's arms wrapped around her and held her tight. A sob escaped Pidge's lips as the tears began to flow down her face. She wrapped her own arms around Allura's middle and hugged her back.

Allura moved a hand to stroke Pidge's hair, while Pidge buried her face in Allura's chest. "It's okay, Pidge." She whispered.

"It's not." Pidge croaked out. "Allura, so much has happened. So many people have died, so many people are in danger, and I'm crying about a hair! What kind of fucked up bullshit is that? You lost your home, your father's legacy, and I'm upset because it inconvenienced my transition."

"That's true." Allura held Pidge tighter. "But you have a right to be upset."

"My family's alive. They're safe. I did what I set out to do. I don't have a right to be upset about anything."

"Pidge-"

"And you shouldn't be comforting me." Her voice cracked as another wave of quiet sobs rose up in her chest. "You especially. I don't want to put this bullshit on you."

"Well, tough!" Allura pulled back slightly and took Pidge's face in her hand, looking into her tear-filled eyes. "I'm your friend, Pidge. That means your burdens are mine to bear, just as mine are yours. I may not understand the biology at play here, and I don't know if there's anything I could say to make you feel better, but I'm here for you. If you need to talk, or to cry, or anything, I'm here for you."

Pidge tried to argue, but her voice failed her, and Allura pulled her back into the hug.

They sat there for a while, Allura holding Pidge and stroking her back. Eventually, the tears stopped flowing, and the sobs stopped coming. Allura shifted Pidge, so that she was lying with her head on Allura's lap and holding her hand.

As Allura continued to stroke Pidge's hair, she said, "If it makes you feel better, we had a saying on Altea. 'When the last leaf of the tree breaks the vindering malaberong's spine, she cries over the weight of a leaf'."

Pidge blinked at her.

"What I mean is, if you're crying over something small, it probably isn't the only reason you're crying."

"Oh." Pidge's voice was hoarse. "We have a similar saying on Earth."

"Well, there you go, then! Like you said, so much has happened. And I know you, Pidge. You aren't the type to cry over a hair if it's the only problem in your life."

"It was just... the straw that broke the camel's back."

Allura stared at her for a moment. "What's a camel?"


End file.
